A new club at Mountain Pointe High School this year let their hands do the talking at a pep rally last Friday.

The Sign Language Club started this year as an outlet for students who wanted to learn the language or share their passion for it with others. A few of the groups 20 or so members participate because the school does not offer sign language as a classroom option.

During the second period pep rally, seven students from the club performed the National Anthem in front of their peers to kick off the event. It was one of many things the club did this year to increase exposure, club sponsor Suzan Bergman said.

The students appreciate their time for their own personal reasons, but each is excited about what they have done and where they are going.

“I feel that I have spoken to so many new people since joining the club,” said Morgan Beckett, an 11th-grader at Mountain Pointe. “That feeling of overcoming the language barrier is just awesome.”

Kelsey Ferguson, a senior, said there is a lot of emotion that goes into it.

“If you sign that you are upset and don’t back it up with any emotion, then the other person isn’t going to buy it,” she said. “It’s a lot of muscle memory. And if you don’t know how to sign, you can always spell it.”

The club meets every other Wednesday after school where they hear a lesson as a group and then break up and practice individually with one another. It also has given them the opportunity to work on a fundraiser in which they have collected approximately $2,500.

They hope to raise $3,000 by the end of the school year and whatever they end up bringing in will go to benefit the MANA (Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force) House, 755 E. Willetta St. in Phoenix, which provides services and goods and clothing to veterans.

“It’s such a great cause and it seemed like everyone in the club had some sort of friend or family connection to the military,” Bergman said. “It was kind of a no-brainer.”

They hope to continue the club into next year and with the success so far, you can bet they are counting on it.

If you would like to help their cause, drop off a donation at the Mountain Pointe High School office, 4201 E. Knox Road.